Costa Rica

Cantonal Road Boards

City/State/Region
Begin – End: 2001 – ongoing
Name of organization in charge: Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT)Municipalidades
Type of organization in charge: government
Level: local national

Impact

?

Implementation: was the innovation effectively, partially or not put into practice at all?

Fulfillment of Aims: were the goals of the innovation completely, partially or not achieved at all?

Output: has the innovation generated recommendations, initiatives, decisions or policies?

Outcome: if there were a policy output, was it enacted or implemented?

Implementation: partial
Fulfillment of Democratic Innovation’s aim: yes
Output: yes
Policy Outcome: yes

The Cantonal Road Boards are public bodies, appointed by the Council of each canton and made up of democratically elected representatives of the community, whose main function is to advise on investment and road development in their district. In 2001, the so-called Law of Simplification and Tax Efficiencies, No. 8114, came into force, which directed funds to the 81 cantons of the country to maintain their roads. In order to increase participation, the Law created the Cantonal Road Boards. When deciding on the ways in which the money will be invested, each Council must take into account the suggestions made by each Road Board in the canton. These Boards must have elected representatives of the community in public and open assemblies, with broad participation of important groups or sectors in every canton. The Cantonal Road Board is considered a public body, appointed by the Council of each canton, to whom it answers for its management. Its members do not earn salary, nevertheless they are considered as civil servants or public functionaries. Among the functions of the Cantonal Road Boards is a whole series of activities related to the accountability of the public authorities involved in the development of the cantonal road networks.

Institutional design

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Formalization: is the innovation embedded in the constitution or legislation, in an administrative act, or not formalized at all?

Frequency: how often does the innovation take place: only once, sporadically, or is it permanent or regular?

Mode of Selection of Participants: is the innovation open to all participants, access is restricted to some kind of condition, or both methods apply?

Type of participants: those who participate are individual citizens, civil society organizations, private stakeholders or a combination of those?

Decisiveness: does the innovation takes binding, non-binding or no decision at all?

Co-governance: is there involvement of the government in the process or not?

Formalization: embedded in the constitution/legislation
Frequency: regular
Mode of selection of participants: restricted
Type of participants: civil society
Decisiveness: democratic innovation yields a non-binding decision
Co-Governance: yes

Means

Deliberation
Direct Voting
E-Participation
Citizen Representation

Ends

Accountability
Responsiveness
Rule of Law
Political Inclusion
Social Equality

Policy cycle

Agenda setting

Formulation and decision-making

Implementation

Policy Evaluation

Sources

http://www.mopt.go.cr/